Power Wheels Motors

[GregTheGreat]

I have recently been working on a project that uses a basic stamp (Basic Stamp 2 Info Here) I have a question for those of you guys that know everything about motors.

I found these motors, that are found in "power wheels" (the little kids electric toys). Can these motors (pictured below) be rigged to power a robot type device. I want to integrate them with the basic stamp to be able to VSR. The weight of the machine being powered is approx 90 lbs. 4 wheel drive, hopefully all from these motors.

The description of the motors from the company selling it is....

Used 12V motors of the "Johnson" permanent magnet style mostly from power wheels toys. Shafts have flat for grip onto spur gear.

Any Info is greatly appreciated.

-Greg The Great

[GregTheGreat]

I forgot the pic, (sorry)

[Kevin A]

Do you have gearboxes for them? It is possible for any motor to power anything, with the proper gear reduction. Are these gears the ones that came with the kit of parts in some past year?

[GregTheGreat]

Originally posted by Kevin A
Do you have gearboxes for them? It is possible for any motor to power anything, with the proper gear reduction. Are these gears the ones that came with the kit of parts in some past year?

No they are not.

-Greg The Great

[Matt Reiland]

Greg,

By the looks of the motors, they are at least similar to the ones that we have used in first with an output of somewhere between 16000 and 19000 RPM. This will be way to high for your robot as is but gearing them down should be rather easy. I would think that 2 per side would move a 90lb robot somewhat effectively. Do you have the tools to build a gearbox for them? I wouldn't use the plastic fisher price gearboxes for a drivetrain, they won't last very long in any real abuse.

[Rickertsen2]

Originally posted by Matt Reiland
Greg,

By the looks of the motors, they are at least similar to the ones that we have used in first with an output of somewhere between 16000 and 19000 RPM. This will be way to high for your robot as is but gearing them down should be rather easy. I would think that 2 per side would move a 90lb robot somewhat effectively. Do you have the tools to build a gearbox for them? I wouldn't use the plastic fisher price gearboxes for a drivetrain, they won't last very long in any real abuse.

I abused my toy car. It lasted.

[GregTheGreat]

Originally posted by Matt Reiland
Greg,

By the looks of the motors, they are at least similar to the ones that we have used in first with an output of somewhere between 16000 and 19000 RPM. This will be way to high for your robot as is but gearing them down should be rather easy. I would think that 2 per side would move a 90lb robot somewhat effectively. Do you have the tools to build a gearbox for them? I wouldn't use the plastic fisher price gearboxes for a drivetrain, they won't last very long in any real abuse.

Ok, I officially have 10 of them coming in. I would like to gear them down, but my knowelage of motors is limited at best. If some of you guys know where I can get gear boxes for them (Remember I need four) I would be more than happy to buy them.

Thanks,

-Greg The Great

[sanddrag]

At least around Los Angeles tons of people have those plastic Power Wheels cars sitting out at the curbside ready for trash pickup. Probably all that has gone wrong is the battery died and I'm sure you could find good gearboxes and/or motors.

As for purchasing them from somewhere, all I can think of is other teams willing to give theirs up.

[GregTheGreat]

Originally posted by sanddrag
At least around Los Angeles tons of people have those plastic Power Wheels cars sitting out at the curbside ready for trash pickup. Probably all that has gone wrong is the battery died and I'm sure you could find good gearboxes and/or motors.

As for purchasing them from somewhere, all I can think of is other teams willing to give theirs up.

I have been looking for a curbside throwaway, but with no luck, I guess the people here down have money to be wasting on power wheels trucks. As for the gearboxes, would the gearboxes from the FP motors work? I think you would really need to "gear down" the motor to be able to drive 90 pounds.

-Greg The Great

[Andy A.]

Well, figure that the cars they drive with the kid wiegh what? 50 pounds?

I don't recall how fast they go, but I've seen them move along fairly fast, judging from a distance. I would guess that they will move 90 pounds with that kind of reduction, although the performance won't be anything to shout about.

Also, they will overheat, and I know the FP motors we use in first tend to melt easily. These look very much like the FP's, so consider that when you go to use them.


-Andy A.

[sanddrag]

I would recommend these and some heat sink grease to help considerably with the overheating problem.

[GregTheGreat]

Originally posted by Andy A.
Well, figure that the cars they drive with the kid wiegh what? 50 pounds?

I don't recall how fast they go, but I've seen them move along fairly fast, judging from a distance. I would guess that they will move 90 pounds with that kind of reduction, although the performance won't be anything to shout about.

Also, they will overheat, and I know the FP motors we use in first tend to melt easily. These look very much like the FP's, so consider that when you go to use them.


-Andy A.

I believe the weight limit on the cars is 80 lbs, and only 2 motors are used to power them, not 4. I believe 4 motors would more than handle 90 pounds. I will still need to "gear em down", do you know of any "gear geniuses" that may be able to help me with getting a nice gear reduction?

-Greg The Great

[GregTheGreat]

I have kinda set the Johnson's off to the side for a while, and am pursuing other options. Could 2 Fisher Price motors pull a 90 pound bot with success, or would trying to locate 2 more for a four wheel drive system be a better option. If you think the 2 FP's would work (with 2 lag wheels) approx. how long could I drive them without burning up the motor?

Thanks,

-Greg The Great

[kmcclary]

Originally posted by Rickertsen2
I abused my toy car. It lasted.

Ah, but if you notice, the wheels supplied by your typical kid's jeep are SLICK. They're designed to slip WAY before any SERIOUS forces are applied to the plastic gears.

When you put a REAL tire on them (like Skyway wheels on carpet), then stall them out or repeatedly slam reverse them, the forces are MUCH higher on the plastic gears than before. They weren't designed to take very much of that.

- Keith

[Joe Johnson]

You can always gear a motor to do whatever you want (move a 90 lbs robot for example).

The real question involves power -- basically, speed times torque.

If you want your robot to accelerate or if you need a certain top speed, you need not just torque, not just speed but speed times torque or POWER.

The peak power of the drill motors and the Chiaphua motors is approximately 300 Watts. Two of these (600W) are pretty good for driving around a FIRST type robot. Many like more than that (say a drill and a Chiaphua per side -- 1200 Watts!).

By comparison, the motors you are showing are probably closer to 150W each. Good but not really great. You will have to compromise speed or torque if you only have 1 per side driving your robot.

ALSO, these motors are very small, yet have relatively large amount of power. Be very careful not to run them too close to stall for too long. The small size means that they will heat up MUCH faster than the drills (and especially the Chiaphua's) for the same amount of electrical energy lost (that means HEAT).

I know from experience that these motors are pretty easy to toast in a short time if you really pound the current into them.

Good luck.

Joe J.